Man, 83, faces court after refusing to pay council tax in £15k row | UK | News

A pensioner who claims he has overpaid £15,000 in council tax over the past 30 years is being hauled before a court and could face jail after refusing to pay his bill. Michael Fielding, 83, was summoned to appear before magistrates on Wednesday (July 15) over an unpaid demand of £3,011.90, plus £58.50 in court costs.

The retired accountant has not paid his council tax so far this year as he is in a six year dispute with South Ribble Borough Council over his detached home’s banding and the amount owed. Mr Fielding, from Penwortham in Lancashire, claims his detached home was wrongly moved into Band E in 1993, while several near-identical neighbouring properties stayed in Band D. He also says official records about his home are inaccurate, including the number of bedrooms.

He said: “I don’t like the authorities thinking they can take advantage of the little man in the street.” Mr Fielding added he is not seeking to avoid his council tax obligations, but disputes the amount demanded.

The maximum sentence over unpaid council tax is up to three months in prison if bailiffs are unable to recover the debt and a court decides the defendant have deliberately refused to pay.

Mr Fielding insists he is not refusing to pay it altogether, but is withholding payment while he fights what he believes is a decades-old error, which has left him around £42,000 out of pocket.

He said he only discovered the mistake by chance six years ago and has been battling the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) ever since.

His appeal has been rejected three times, a Valuation Tribunal case was dismissed and he says he has even been branded a nuisance customer and told officials will no longer respond to his letters.

Despite multiple failed appeals, the pensioner said he is determined to keep fighting and has now lodged a formal complaint with South Ribble Borough Council.

He planned to ask Blackburn Magistrates’ Court to adjourn the case until the council has finished investigating his claims.

Mr Fielding said he believes it is unfair for enforcement action to continue before the council has considered the evidence he submitted and responded to his complaint.

He and his wife Sandra bought their detached house in December 1987 for £55,995. The couple chose to make a range of modifications to change it from a four bedroomed property into a three-bed.

The property was assessed as being in Band D for council tax purposes until 1995 when they received a “total surprise” letter saying it had been wrongly banded and reclassified as Band E.

They didn’t question the change, until they saw Martin Lewis on TV talking about checking council tax and a relative mentioned the Government’s band check website.

Mr Fielding says he discovered other “identical” properties on the estate were still in Band D, paying around £500 less per year since 1995. The current 2026/7 council tax charge for a Band E house in Penwortham is £3,011.90 – £547.62 more than a Band D property at £2,464.28.

Council leader, Matthew Tomlinson, said: “South Ribble Borough Council has a legal duty to collect council tax and follows the recovery process set out in law when payments are not made.

“Residents who fall behind with their council tax payments are issued with reminder notices and given opportunities to bring their accounts up to date or contact the council to discuss their circumstances and available support.”

He said if payment is not made and no suitable arrangement is in place, recovery action may progress through the courts. The councillor added: “As the billing authority, the council is required to bill and collect council tax based on the information held by the Valuation Office Agency.

“We have received correspondence from Mr Fielding and will respond through our normal procedures. As this relates to an individual resident, we are unable to comment further on the specifics of his case.”

An HMRC spokesperson said previously: “We have engaged with Mr Fielding extensively over a number of years and, based on thorough consideration of the evidence, we’ve concluded the Band E classification is correct.

“Comparable properties in the area with three bedrooms are valued well within Band E, so the bedroom count does not affect the banding outcome.”

The spokesperson said the VOA has dealt with Mr Fielding through multiple channels since at least 2018, adding the tribunal struck out Mr Fielding’s case on procedural grounds because he did not have standing to bring it.

They also said the matter has since been reviewed by the VOA Complaints Investigation Team and formally closed.